MARVAO AGAIN

Just 90 minutes from Finca al-manzil is the magical village of Marvao just over the border to Portugal.  Several places for a delicious lunch and endless fascination walking around this completely walled medieval village.

A GARDEN PARTY IN CASCAIS AND LATE NIGHT DASH TO LISBON FOR ENCOUNTERS IN AN OLD BROTHEL

Lots of excitement for the Extemadura country bumpkins  as we dash over the border to Lisbon for super weekend garden party in Cascais. A cousins reunion all planned by sister Vicky in her lovely garden. Our one remaining tia was there, Tia Lena, 86 years old and still sprightly.

A most heart warming time catching up after years and a few  of the childrens' life times. Stupendous food contributed by all, buckets of gin & tonic with crushed juniper berries, lots of CAKE...sumptuous chocolate and ginger, tiers of picture book fairy cakes. 

Non stop reminiscents about the oddest moments and members of family history, our latest doings and fads, fancies and follies, lots of fun and laughter, meeting new friends, all accompanied by my entire ipod jazz/ salsa/blues collection.

And then................after a little pause some of us zoomed into Lisbon for a night prowl around Cais Sodre, an area of former sleazy repute by the docks where naugty sailors would seek some pleasure behind the classic but decrepid façades of post earthquake 18th century buildings divided into warrens of little rooms now converted into bars and restaurants .

The one we chose was called "Pensao Amor", it's a huge building with many rooms designed  with post modern irony, playing on the old brothel days with louche settings, all plush, mirrors and chandeliers, amusing murals on the stairs. A cosy room with armchairs is the library dedicated to erotic/soft porn literature, some very interesting early editions of formerly banned books printed in Paris.

VICKY CONTEMPLATING THE DODGY BOOKS

It was packed on Saturday night, packed with tourists gaping and housewifey types (Manfred's comment). Apparently weekdays are better, when one can really take in the amazing collection of junk and tat that has somehow come together to create an amusing and comfy place with more than a few resonances from the good old days.

Some great memories to take back to our tranquil life at Finca al-manzil.

NATURTEJO GEOPARK- FOSSILS AND MORE AT PENHA GARCIA, PORTUGAL

A day trip to Idanha-a-nova region in Portugal, particularly Penha Garcia and the Geopark where there are wonderful fossil walls.

* see former post about Idanha-a-velha in the same area.
http://finca-al-manzil.blogspot.com.es/2010/05/little-village-of-idanha-velha-with-its.html

The fossils can be seen on a specially designed walk in the Ponsul canyon where you will find several outcrops of quartzite that contain beautiful specimens of trilobite ichnofossils: Cruziana. These examples are 300 million years old!

The patterns are extraordinarily intricate and very beautiful, one doesn't have to have any "fossil knowledge" to appreciate them on a purely visual level.

The river valley walk is wonderful in itself, a deep gorge which ends in a high dam wall with the original water mills clustered on the river. The mills are open to the public and have been sympathetically arranged with old milling equipment, the guide will set the milling device in action so one gets a real sense of the milling process using the power of water.

After climbing up from the valley over the dam wall the castle of Penha Garcia looms over the walk back into the village.

We found a traditional padaria, baker, still using a wood oven and producing delicious Portuguese rustic bread, traditional cakes, also selling local honey and herbs. The two jolly girls had recently started this enterprise and it seemed to be thriving. We bought two different types of bread and honey to take home and pao com choriço to eat immediately, it's irresistible, bread dough wrapped around spicy choriço and then baked, really yummy!

The tourist office in the village is very helpful and has some well produced books with great photos of the fossils.

GOOGLE MAP REF.

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Penha+Garcia&hl=es&ll=40.036027,-6.981812&spn=2.132232,5.108643&sll=40.047066,-7.033138&sspn=0.066625,0.159645&hnear=Penha+Garcia,+Distrito+de+Castelo+Branco,+Portugal&t=m&z=8&layer=t

A HAUNTED PLACE IN PORTUGAL- FADAGOSA THERMAL BATHS

Last Saturday we dropped Lucy and Ivani off at Evora train station and continued further North to one of our favourite places, Marvao.  Unfortunately it was the annual Feria de Castaños, the chestnut fair which seemed to be attended by the whole of the Alentejo and beyond, there was even a bus from Zafra. We decided not to get involved with the crowds as the whole point of Marvao is the slow pace of life, almost from another age. Still good to see that a few times a year it gets busy, very well organized with private cars banned, the only way up to the village is by walking or taking a designated bus which parks outside the walls.

We decided to re-visit somewhere that we had discovered years and years ago on one of our rambles whilst living in the Alentejo.  The old thermal baths of Fadagosa established at the beginning of the XIX century, popular with Portuguese and Spanish people afflicted with rheumatism, skin diseases and gout. The baths flourished until a steady decline in the 1930s until they fell into disuse and ruin by the end of the 1950s.

Today the ruin is complete with fallen roofs, shattered floors and splintered doors. Only the strong cobalt blue of the remaining woodwork retains some colour amidst the decay.

 

 

Because of the strong spring which still gushes from the ground the whole area is inundated causing prodigious growth of sumac and brambles, some evidence of an orchard still remain with a few straggly orange trees.

The atmosphere is haunting, what stories of hope, cure and death might echo through the long corridors and waft around the still remaining marble baths. A little piece of Portuguese social history in this remote corner of the Alentejo.

Trip to Marvao and Castelo de Vide in Portugal

Size Matters?
The Menhir da Meada is the tallest in Iberia standing at over 7m. Wow!

clustered around the imosing hills are over 50 megalithic remains

 including dolmens, menhirs and cycloliths, making this one of the megalithic hot-spots of Portugal.

Birthday picnic at Salvaterra do Extremo - Portugal

For a long time we have wanted to return to Salvaterra do Extremo to walk through the gorges on the River Erge. It seemed a good day to go on my birthday so we were on the road early(ish) It took the usual 2 hours and we crossed over the ford into Portugal when it was still not too hot. We dumped our picnic under a huge shady tree on the river bank and set off along the track. Passed an old water mill with a tunnel design to withstand the winter torrents, there was debris caught up in the trees 3 metres higher than the present water level. As we walked along the castle of Pennefial on the Spanish side was constantly in our view. The walk is named Rota de Abutros,

the Vulture route and there were certainly plenty circling around the castle towers.
The track became quite steep as it meandered along the river bank. Finally we approached the first gorge which was quite atmospheric, quite narrow with several cascades.
We soon realized that it would not be possible to continue on to the further gorges as the track disappeared and it would mean a scramble on the slippery long grass or an attempt through the water, we will come better equipped next time, I can hardly wait to return to discover the further more inaccessible gorges.

Roxy was in heaven splashing around in the shallow parts of the river, we saw several kingfishers, lots of herons and what seemed to be a black stork but they are rare so could have been wishful thinking.

We reached our tree feeling ready for a small feast and some cool wine. What bliss sitting on a river rock, toes in the water balancing precariously yummy Torta de Casar cheese, cherries from La Vera, cold pizza, paté and small black wrinkly olives plus a glass of wine which was still quite

chilled. 

                                                                                                                  

We only left the ecologically sound footprint before heading back to car and a coffee in the village, the village that seems to draw us back quite magnetically.

On the way home we visited a castle which we had seen on the way, Marmionda. There was not much left but the outer walls but a beautiful Mudejar double arch was still surviving, just.

We arrived home looking forward to a swim and a quiet dinner with the total eclipse of the moon to observe at around 11ish.  Suzanna and Helmut were on holiday at their place just along the lane and they visited after dinner with yet another celebratory bottle which was perfect for the moon toast and a lovely end to the day.